


Fight

by mywordsflyup



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, some descriptions of violence but nothing too graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-10
Updated: 2015-03-10
Packaged: 2018-03-17 05:50:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3517772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mywordsflyup/pseuds/mywordsflyup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Cullen saw her fight, really fight, impressed and scared him more than he cared to admit. </p>
<p>An entirely self-indulgent Cullen/Lavellan drabble I apparently wrote while drunk, completely forgot about for a month and then revised. Basically just fighting, bathing in a stream, a bit of angst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fight

The first time Cullen saw her fight, really fight, impressed and scared him more than he cared to admit. He had known that she could hold her own in battle but this was the first time he accompanied her on one of her missions. He had thought it would good for him. Getting out of Skyhold, a change of scenery. Seeing what it was like out there with his own eyes rather than relying on the reports of their scouts and spies. He had not been prepared. 

They approached a group of Red Templars who had built their camp in a shallow ditch near a stream in the Exalted Plains. Iron Bull had found their tracks about an hour earlier and since then they had hardly spoken a word. The playful banter which had irritated Cullen since their departure from Skyhold had given way to an intense silence. The group now almost exclusively communicated through a intricate system of gestures and signs and Cullen realized just how familiar the members of the group had become with one another. Iron Bull, Dorian and Cassandra had accompanied their Inquisitor on most of her missions and now Cullen was able to witness firsthand just how well they worked together. 

As they got closer to the Red Templar camp, Elaria motioned for them to slow down and wait while she scouted the area. They hid behind some boulders near the stream and Cullen almost expected Iron Bull and Dorian to take up their banter again but they stayed silent. After a few minutes, Elaria returned. Her slender hands flew through the air as she signed some orders for her team which Cullen did not fully understand. The others, however, seemed to comprehend them perfectly as they nodded and dispersed into different directions. Before Cullen could open his mouth, Elaria took his hand and squeezed it softly. He looked at her in surprise but she smiled reassuringly and mouthed, “You stay with me”. 

Cullen nodded and followed her when she got up. He wasn't exactly used to taking orders anymore, but Elaria had always made it easy to follow her. She led him away from the Templar camp at first only to circle back around after a few hundred yards and climbing the steep hill right behind the camp. Cullen began to understand why Elaria had advised him to wear unusually light armor. The way up the hill was arduous and the terrain was rough. When they finally reached the top, Cullen found himself breathing hard and sweating underneath his armor. Elaria did not seem to have that problem, he noticed. She carefully walked a few paces downhill towards the camp before slouching behind some thick bushes and motioning him to do the same. They peaked through the leaves and watched the camp below. 

From this standpoint, Cullen was able to make out the other three members of their group hiding in three different spots just behind the stream. With him and Elaria at their back, the Templars were positively surrounded. There were ten of them, as far as he could see. They were obviously not expecting an attack as some of them were not even in full armor. The Inquisitor's group was outnumbered but they had the advantage of surprise. But still, nobody made a move. As he began stirring at bit, Elaria raised her hand to signal him patience so he stayed still. After a few more minutes, she pulled an arrow from her quiver and raised her bow slowly. There was a look of complete and utter calm on her face as she drew the bow. She exhaled softly and released the arrow. It found its mark right in one of the Templar's eye sockets. 

Even before the man hit the ground and before the others realized what was going on, another arrow buried itself deep in one man's neck. As the Templars jumped to the feet and their weapons, the rest of the Inquisitor's group left their hiding spots and stormed through the stream into the camp. Dorian's spells flew through the air at a rapid speed while Cassandra and Iron Bull rammed into the scrambling Templars with such force that they were instantly driven back to the hills from where Elaria continued to shower them with arrows. She had stood up, which Cullen hadn't even noticed as he was watching the fight below. 

“Cullen!” she bellowed and he looked up. She was standing on a ledge and motioned him to follow. “Come on!” 

He rushed to his feet and ran after her as she sled down the steep side of the hill down into the camp. They landed right in the middle of the battle and Cullen finally found good use for his sword. Elaria stayed by his side. She had abandoned her bow and now whirled through the enemy ranks with a curved dagger in her hand. The calm expression on her face had not wavered. Through the grunts and screams of the fight he could hear Iron Bull's laugh at the other end of the camp. 

After just a few minutes, it was done. It had been more of a slaughter than a fight. Ten dead Templars laid at their feet while there was hardly a scratch on any of their own team. Cassandra didn't even seem to have broken a sweat. Elaria straightened up from examining one of the fallen and walked up to him. There was blood on her face. It wasn't her own. She was smiling. 

He could feel his heartbeat quicken as it always did when she smiled at him. But this time there was something else as well. A hint of dread, perhaps. Like looking at a pond and seeing the pitch black depths underneath the glittering surface.

* * *

“I just don't think I've ever seen you like that.” Cullen watched from the corner of his eye as she carefully took off her armor. Pieces of leather and mail already law in a pile at her feet. When she was down to just her linen trousers and tunic, she stepped into the rushing waters of the stream to wash off the blood from her arms and face. Cullen looked away, frozen on the bank at the water's edge. He had seen her with much less on, of course, but somehow watching her like this made him feel uncomfortable. 

“Like what?” she asked and splashed some of the ice-cold water in his direction. It was playful. All the seriousness seemed to have fallen off her together with her armor. 

“I guess I didn't expect you to be so calm”, he finally said and sighed. “Not that... that's not a bad thing, of course. It's just... unexpected.” He dared to look up. She was standing in the middle of the stream, staring at him. Her clothes clung to her body and she had let her hair down. She was beautiful and as always when it hit him out of the blue like this, he forgot to breathe for a few seconds. But he was still embarrassed. He felt a blush creeping into his cheeks and looked away quickly. 

“I'm a hunter.” He couldn't discern any emotion from her voice. It was just a fact. “It's just what I do.” He could hear her wading towards him through the shallow water and looked up when he felt her hand on his knee. There was concern in her eyes. Perhaps a bit of embarrassment as well. He swallowed. She was right, of course. She was a hunter. He could see it in the way she fought. She had shot those men like game. Quick and painless, but also completely detached. 

“I guess, I've never really thought about what your work out here really looked like. I know it was silly of me.” He cupped one side of her face with his hand. Her skin was cool and damp from the water. For a short second, he thought she would pull away but instead she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. 

“I don't like it, you know”, she said. “I don't relish the fight like Bull does. But it's necessary.” She opened her eyes and looked at him through big sorrowful eyes. “I hope you don't think less of me now. I never meant...” 

He shook his head and pulled her up into his arms. 

“I could never think less of you. I don't think that's even possible.” 

And it was the truth, of course. But as he pulled her close and buried his face in her damp hair, she felt different to him. Harder, somehow. A ragged piece of flint hidden underneath a smile.


End file.
